


flirtsgiving

by poiregourmande



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series), In Control with Kelsey (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Friendsgiving, M/M, Multi, Scheming Sara, Truth or Dare, Various combinations of pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 01:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16651384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poiregourmande/pseuds/poiregourmande
Summary: sara and kelsey are sick of their boyfriends feuding with the fancy boys - they plan a friendsgiving cabin getaway to make them realize maybe the real feud was just sexual tension all along





	flirtsgiving

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ricky_goldsworth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ricky_goldsworth/gifts).



“As hilarious as this feud is, Ry, sometimes I’d like  _ one _ night where you can speak to Steven without trying to roast him.”

“Oh god, absolutely.” Sara rolls her eyes. “I can’t mention Andrew at home without Shane going on a five minute long impression of what he thinks is a fancy boy.”

“Babe,” Ryan gives Kelsey a simpering smile. “You brought this upon yourself. You gave us a tribune for our feud, and it only grew from there.”

“You were bitching each other on Twitter long before the Sims videos! Don’t try me, Bergara.”

As if of one mind, Shane and Ryan stand up to make for the bar. Their strategy? Buy more drinks and hope the girls have changed the subject by the time they come back. It’s a time-honored strategy, really, but they didn’t count on how sick of the feud the girls were. 

“You know what I think it is?” Sara leans in closer to whisper, once the boys are out of earshot. “I think this whole thing is just sexual tension they can’t deal with.”

Kelsey chokes on her wine. “Um – what?”

“The four of them are obsessed with each other, they put so much time and effort into it. Really, most of their comments are just flirting but with an aggressive tone. Have you noticed how Ryan gets when he roasts Steven and then frantically refreshes his DMs to see if he answered? He was the same when you two started flirting.”

Kelsey’s eyes widen. “And… what about Shane?”

“Oh god, don’t remind me. He can spend like hours on the phone trying to convince Andrew his favourite historical figures were pervs. He says it’s just a sounding board for Ruining History because Andrew knows this shit, but he always gets really worked up about it.”

“Like, he gets mad?”

“Like, he wants this.” Sara gives a little shimmy and wiggles her eyebrows. 

Kelsey gasps. “And you don’t mind?”

Sara’s eyes widen in sudden realization. “Oh. Oh, right, you don’t know. Shane and I are polyamorous. I don’t mind that he flirts, I mind that it turned into a feud and that he doesn’t even realize he’s into them.”

It’s a bit weird, because Kelsey and Sara became friends quite recently, when she and Ryan started going out, but they became really close really quick. Shane and Sara thought Ryan hanging out with them all the time was just a ‘recently single’ thing, but he’s spending just as much time at their place now that he’s got a girlfriend. Kelsey doesn’t seem to mind, and that led to Sara realizing she hasn’t had a close female friend like that in a long time – they’re all busy now with adulthood and relationships and careers. It’s good to have a close friend at the office again, with whom she can talk about anything, and so it’s almost weird that she doesn’t know they’re poly yet. It’s not like they’re hiding it, really, it just… hasn’t come up. 

Kelsey nods, looking like she’s connecting dots in her head. “Have – have you ever been with Ryan? Is he poly?”

Sara looks longingly over at the boys, still waiting at the bar. “I can’t tell you how your boyfriend feels. I don’t know if he’s into us. I can only tell you that nothing ever happened. Sometimes I thought he’d make a move, but...” She shrugs. Ryan’s always been at the same time sort of a mystery and a small animal she didn’t want to spook. She always thought it was best to let him come to them. But then he met Kelsey. 

“Sometimes… sometimes it feels like when I got together with Ryan I didn’t get just a boyfriend. I got two, and a girlfriend.” Kelsey’s face is unreadable. 

“I’m so sorry,” Sara hurries to reassure her. “We can totally back off – we’re just used to having Ryan around, but if you need –”

Kelsey slides closer in the booth and squeezes Sara’s hand. “I’m not mad at it.” She smiles softly. “I was in a poly relationship myself, once upon a time… we’re still friends, but I miss it.”

Sara’s eyes widen. “You probably should talk to Ryan about that.”

Kelsey’s eyes shine in the dim lighting of the bar, and Sara really hopes she will. 

The boys come back at last with a round of beers, and their arrival brings the feud back to the girls’ minds. 

“You know what I think we should do about that feud?”

“Oh god, are we still on that?” Ryan groans. 

“Of course, dear,” Sara said, poking him in the cheek. “If you think we’d let that go just because you bought us beer…”

“It usually works,” Shane points out. 

“It works because I normally don’t care about the outcome of our silly banter.”

Shane sighs, knowing when he’s defeated. “So, how do you plan on bringing peace between the Gold Boys and the Ghoul Bros?”

“Friendsgiving!” she declares proudly. “A truce for one day, a nice dinner. The four of us, Andrew, and Steven.”

“They’ll think we’re ganging up on them.”

“We’ll invite Adam and Annie then. They don’t care about your stupid feud.”

“It’s not stu–” Ryan starts but Kelsey shuts him up with a kiss. “It is.”

Sara beams. It feels so damn good to have someone on her team when the boys start getting on her nerves – and seeing Ryan and Kelsey kiss isn’t too bad on the eyes either. She catches Shane’s eye, and it’s obvious he’s enjoying the view too. She winks at him – in a way that means, in their own couple dialect,  _ I got so much to tell you later _ .

 

***

 

Sara and Adam go way back. They’ve naturally gravitated together when they started at Buzzfeed, as two artistic weirdos, and they’ve even hooked up once, back during the Violet era. It didn’t last because she started going out with Shane soon after, and it took a good year before they started talking about poly, but she always looks fondly on that time. 

So when she drops into an empty seat next to Adam in the canteen, and gives her cutest grin, she knows he won’t be able to resist. Like clockwork, he smiles back, and she knows he’s in, whatever she’s about to propose. 

“So we’re thinking of doing Friendsgiving, like, you, me, Annie, Shane, Ryan, Kelsey, Andrew, and Steven?”

Adam raises an eyebrow. “Your boys and my boys? This is gonna be the most dysfunctional dinner ever.”

“That’s the idea,” she says, poking him in the shoulder. “It’s a truce dinner. No feud allowed.”

Adam looks doubtful, so she continues. “It can be done. Kelsey and I are gonna withhold sex if they don’t play nice, and you can, I don’t know – withhold food?”

Adam mumbles something that almost sounds like  _ or sex _ , but Sara doesn’t quite catch it.

“You in?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Would you be a dear and ask Steven if he can use his pull to get us a big cabin? We’d make a weekend out of it. Oh, and you’d be in charge of most food, but we can help, of course.”

There’s a reason Sara’s good at her job. She’s got a way of smiling as she unloads a laundry list of tasks that makes it look like she’s the one doing you a favor. Adam’s always been immune to it.

“So  _ you’re _ hosting Friendsgiving, but doing none of the actual work?”

Sara taps a finger to her chin like she’s mulling it over. “Yeah, sounds about right!” She stands up and kisses the top of his head. “Thanks, you’re a sweetheart!” she calls as she walks away.

“You’re lucky I like you!” he calls back, and she just waves at him without turning back. 

 

***

 

Steven manages to get them a cabin up north, where they actually get fall weather – Shane and Andrew have both been whining for months about the lack of seasons in LA, so this will give them the perfect excuse to wear big cable-knits and build a fire. They drive up in two cars – truce or not, Sara was not about to spend five hours in close quarters with Steven and Ryan. 

Kelsey and Ryan had their talk a few nights before they left. Sara didn’t get the specifics, but Kelsey did text her something along the lines of  _ thanks for the advice. can’t wait to see where this will take us _ along with a bunch of kissy-face emojis. Nothing’s happened yet, but since Shane’s driving and Ryan’s got the habit of yelling  _ shotgun _ before every car trip, Sara allows herself to lay her head in Kelsey’s lap in the backseat, falling asleep for a short nap as Kelsey plays with her hair. 

The rental is everything Sara had hoped it would be. Huge log cabin, four bedrooms with huge beds – one for each couple – an actual stone fireplace, and one of these long refectory tables that can accomodate all of them as well as their planned feast. And what a feast indeed. Sara’s had to rein Adam in after she saw his first draft of a menu, because  _ there’s only eight of us, Adam!  _ and  _ you know we’re not planning on eating non-stop for seventy-two hours straight, right? _

The Unsolved car reaches the cabin a bit before the Worth It car – thanks to Steven’s three thousand bathroom breaks, Andrew mumbles when he finally gets out of the car – so they have their pick of rooms first. 

Sara calls dibs on the one with the biggest bed – she says it’s for her giant of a boyfriend but the possibility to bring others in it doesn’t hurt either. 

They hear a car outside and at once, Kelsey and Sara grab their respective boyfriend’s hand. 

“Be nice,” Kelsey tells them. 

Shane rolls his eyes. “I am a delight, I’ll have you know. I’ll be perfectly lovely.”

Ryan nods. “As long as they –”

“Stop expecting the worst,” Sara interrupts him. “Adam promised me they’d do their best. We’re all just friends trying to have a good time.”

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Ryan says, holding up his hands in defeat. 

Things go swimmingly for the first hour or so. Andrew pops open a bottle of sparkling wine, and they toast to friendship. Cheesy, but as Sara likes to say, toasting is better than roasting!

The wine loosens them up a bit and soon Sara notices it’s also loosening their promised restraint. Ryan and Steven start talking about basketball, a subject that’s always two seconds away from slipping into an argument. Shane keeps eyeing Andrew, this look on his face like he’s trying to find a good burn, and Sara intercepts him, backing him up into the corridor leading to the bathroom. 

“Don’t start,” she says, sing-songy.

“I wasn’t – I was just about to tell Andrew –”

“Okay, I didn’t wanna say anything until you noticed it yourself, but you do know you’re flirting with Andrew, right?”

Shane gives a flawless impression of a shook goldfish, eyes bulging out, mouth opening and closing. 

“How did you know?” he asks, this look in his eye like he’s replaying all his past interactions with Andrew in his head, like everything starts to make sense.

Sara waves her hand in a vague gesture. “Well, you know, this whole feud… the four of you took the middle-schooler route to flirting. Someone had to do something about that, and since you weren’t even aware of doing it…”

“Is that why you insisted on a friendsgiving dinner?” 

Sara’s chin juts out mischievously. “It might turn into a flirtsgiving, who knows?”

Shane pulls her into a hug, ruffles her curls. “You saucy little schemer, you!” 

Sara ducks out under his arm to escape, giggles bubbling out like the sparkling wine she indulged in. Shane is clearly giving her a head start, because despite his too long legs and arms, he doesn’t reach her before she can squeeze herself between Ryan and Steven, shrieking for help and effectively putting a stop to their sporty banter. 

Sara delights in the easy way Ryan’s arm wraps around her, instinctively protecting her. “This is a tickle-free zone,” he says, self-importantly, when Shane tries to skirt around him. 

“Try the kitchen,” Steven suggests. “Adam is ticklish as hell.”

Shane retrieves his glass and drops down in a chair, legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle. “If you think I’m incurring the wrath of Adam when he’s around knives…”

“Funny how you don’t mind incurring  _ my _ wrath,” Sara says, pouting.

“Well, look at you, you’re just a cute small thing!”

“And Adam?”

“He’s a cute small thing  _ with knives _ . And a weirdly fierce protectiveness of his kitchen.”

“You think I’m cute,” Adam says matter-of-factly, walking in the dining room for a wine refill. 

“Who doesn’t?” Ryan answers. 

Sara slinks away to the kitchen, a look on her face like the least subtle plotting villain. “It’s working,” she tells Kelsey, squeezing her hip.

Andrew, who’s peeling potatoes for Kelsey to dice, pipes up. “What’s working?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Kelsey says, and boops his nose.

“Careful,” Annie says from where she’s making a salad, “that’s how Niki fucked up her pinky.”

“Hey, I had nothing to do with that!” Andrew spins to face her, brandishing his peeler. 

Kelsey guides him back to his post by his belt loop. “Less threatening, more peeling, babe.”

Sara’s got to admire how easily Kelsey sprinkles affection in her interactions – and because she’s so sweet, no one realizes she’s flirting. She just gently mellows out everyone’s spirits.

Candles, fireplace, smooth jazz, and a huge spread of a feast have them all feeling cozy, slightly tipsy from a few more bottles of wine. Conversation’s light and loose, limbs a bit heavy from good food and drink, and everyone’s a bit cuddly. Sara’s got one hand on Kelsey’s thigh on her left, leans into Annie on her right, and Shane in front of her tangles their ankles together. 

Someone suggests board games but Sara can see the spark of competition light up in Steven’s eye. Maybe not the best idea if she wants things to stay chill. 

“How about Truth or Dare?” she suggests, arm lingering on the back of Annie’s chair nonchalantly. 

Shane flashes her a  _ I know what you’re doing _ smirk, and Andrew goes, “aren’t we a little old for that?”

“You can never be too old to be embarrassed in front of your friends, Grandpa,” Ryan jeers.

Andrew doesn’t look impressed, and Sara’s about to say something, but Kelsey speaks first – Sara hadn’t expected how much of an ally she would be in this endeavor. “It doesn’t have to be embarrassing,” she says. “It can be, y’know. Pretty hot.”

“Pretty hot…” Shane repeats, looking from her to Sara like he didn’t expect her to also be in on it.

“Yeah, like… There’s no reason to keep it to middle school level pranks. We’re all consenting adults…”

“What else are cabins for, anyway?” Sara pipes up. 

“What happens at the cabin…” Adam trails off, and Sara suddenly notices he’s leaning back in his chair with his legs in Andrew’s lap. Andrew’s fingertips are drawing distracted patterns on his legs, in what seems a natural, almost habitual occurrence. They just seem like they belong in each other’s space. 

One by one they agree – Andrew coming in last, and only when Shane pokes him with a very bad impression of Tom Felton’s  _ scared, Potter? _

Andrew replies “You wish,” and Kelsey shrieks with laughter, half falling into Sara’s lap.

They move to the living room with one or two fresh bottles of wine. Shane puts one more log on the fire and they pile up haphazardly on the couches. Sara feels almost dizzy with anticipation as she curls up against Kelsey in an armchair. Kelsey sits with her feet up on the seat, her skirt riding up, and she seems like she just doesn’t care she might be flashing her underwear at everyone. Nobody seems to mind either – those who’ve noticed look pretty happy about it indeed. 

“So who starts?” Steven asks.

“Well, since you’re offering…” Ryan teases, but Shane takes pity on blushing Steven and starts. 

“Kelsey, truth or dare?” 

Kelsey cuts her eyes at Sara like she’s considering her, before turning back to Shane. “Let’s start soft. Truth.”

“Ever been with a girl?”

“Yes.”

“Anyone we know?” Sara asks. 

“How about you ask when it’s your turn?” Kelsey answers, sweetly smug. “Adam, truth or dare?” 

“Truth.”

“So, you’re with Annie, but you seem pretty cuddly with Andrew and Steven. Are all four of you together?”

“Yes.” He pulls Steven in closer – now that it’s out there, there’s no need to be discreet about it anymore. 

“That’s so sweet! Can I ask how long it’s been, or is that a secret we must unlock in the game?”

Adam smiles softly. “Steven, Andrew and I have been together for like… a year? Annie joined us when we went to Japan.” He squeezes her knee, a fond look on his face. 

“Ryan,” he finally says, like he just remembered the game, “truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Ryan says, all puffed chest and eyes bright with anticipation. 

“Kiss Shane.”

There’s a chorus of “oooooooooh!” coming from the Worth It side of the room but Ryan just shrugs and scoots closer to him on their couch. 

He acts like it’s no big deal – and it’s not, not in the  _ gay panic _ sense of the word – but his hands are shaking and his breath is coming out in short bursts. It’s a big deal in the  _ This has been a long time coming  _ sense of the word. 

Sara instinctively leans in for a closer look, and can feel Kelsey next to her doing the same. They grip hands, almost as nervous as the boys. 

Shane’s a champ through the whole thing. He doesn’t show just how long he’s wished for that to happen. He sees Ryan’s nervous and knows his role is to ground him, just like when they go ghost-hunting. He guides him closer, one hand on his jaw, the other on his waist, his face relaxed and inviting. 

Ryan almost melts in Shane’s arms. Sara can see all tension leaving his shoulders, and she’s a bit sad she can’t see the actual kiss from where she is, but at the same time, this is their moment. There’ll be plenty more to watch in the future if things go her way. 

It takes a few minutes for Ryan to come down from the kiss and remember it’s his turn. He stays pressed close to Shane and looks at Sara mischievously. 

“Sara. Truth or dare?” 

She picks dare without a second of hesitation – the quickest way to make something happen. 

Ryan’s grin widens. This is where the frat boy comes out. Years of parties and drinking games have prepared him for this. 

“I want you to stand, eyes closed, and guess who’s kissing you. We’ll pick someone at random.”

“Oh shit,” Sara breathes out. A chill runs up her spine in anticipation. 

She gets up to stand against the wall, closes her eyes and covers her ears while the others pick someone. 

“No touching!” Ryan adds and she hides her hands behind her back, almost vibrating out of her skin as she waits, ears attuned to every sound. 

A squeak of leather couch. A shuffle of feet. A muffled laugh. 

And then. 

She feels a breath on her lips, the warmth of someone standing before her. A hand tips her chin up and then there’s lips on hers – she’s being kissed. 

From the get go she knows it’s not Shane. The person doesn’t kiss like him. Excitation raises inside of her at the thought of kissing someone who’s not her boyfriend – it’s been a while. She tries to ignore the thrill and focus on what she can feel, what she can guess. 

Lip balm. She darts out her tongue to taste; it’s not Kelsey, she’s borrowed hers often enough to know that. 

She wishes she could touch – press her body against them to see if she meets muscles or breasts, a fashionable jacket or a soft sweater. 

Their tongue meets hers, curious but gentle. It tastes like wine, of course, but white wine. Most of the boys had been drinking red. Except Adam, and there’s no beard. 

Annie, then.

Sara smiles into the kiss but doesn’t break it. “Hi, Annie,” she says against her lips, hands finally coming out to pull her closer. 

“Hello,” Annie exhales, and she keeps kissing her, fingers dragging up Sara’s back to tangle into her hair. 

They keep making out for a while, Sara’s hands splayed across Annie’s back, making Annie arch into her, pressing her against the wall. 

“Are we still playing?” Steven whispers at some point. 

“Steven,” Sara says, burying her face in Annie’s neck, “truth or dare?”

“Dare sounds fun,” he says, but seems a bit nervous about it.

“Go sit on Ryan’s lap,” she tells him. 

“Whaa–why?”

Sara doesn’t dignify that with a response, but Ryan does. 

“That’s the game,” he says, “or are you too chicken?” He sits lower on the couch, lap ready to welcome Steven, a defiant grin on his face like he doesn’t think Steven will actually do it.

But Steven does. He stands up and smoothes over his pants, like he’s trying to regain some sense of composure. In two steps he’s standing above Ryan, half looking like he wants to run away, but he ends up dropping sideways into his lap. Ryan’s arms circle his waist to secure him in place, and Steven hesitates a few seconds before wrapping his arms around Ryan’s neck. 

“You smell nice,” Ryan says, resting his chin on Steven’s shoulder. 

Steven turns bright red and mumbles his thanks. 

Sara and Annie return to the couch, fingers linked together, stealing kisses every now and then. 

“It’s your turn,” Ryan whispers to Steven, who looks uncomfortable with how much he’s enjoying this. 

“Andrew,” Steven says, still looking at Ryan. “Truth or dare?”

Andrew narrows his eyes at him, ponders for a bit. “Dare,” he says finally.

Steven twists in Ryan’s lap to look at Shane, then at Andrew again. “Take off your shirt,” he says simply.

Andrew raises his eyebrows, shrugs – it’s a bit of a simple dare at this point in the game, but he obeys nonetheless.

Shane takes in a sharp breath, leans forward. The smirk on Steven’s face says that was his plan all along. Andrew folds his shirt nicely, bless his neat grandpa heart, but Sara notices he keeps cutting his eyes at Shane to see if he’s looking. 

And boy, is he looking. 

He can’t take his eyes off Andrew’s pale skin, his dusting of golden hair, the way his nipples are perking up in the cold air of the cabin. Shane’s mindlessly rubbing his hands up and down his thighs, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. 

Sara’s a bit breathless. She knew he had a thing for Andrew, but seeing him half lose his mind at the sight of his chest is a whole nother thing. She squirms in her seat and Annie flashes her the brightest, sweetest grin, raising one eyebrow like  _ y’okay there babe? _

“Sara,” Andrew says, and she startles. “Truth or dare?”

“What, me again?”

“Mhmm. Pick truth.”

The rebellious streak in Sara wants to say dare – okay and maybe her exhibitionist streak, too – but Andrew’s obviously got something in mind, and she’d hate to miss out. 

“Truth, then.”

“Why did you gather us here?” She opens her mouth to answer, but he lifts up a finger in warning. “And no ‘truce from the feud’ bullshit.”

He’s onto her.

They might all be.

_ Good _ .

She leans back in her seat, rests her feet up in Annie’s lap. “Because, the four of you are blind to the fact that your feud stems from sexual tension and is basically two seconds away from flirting at any given time. Y’all need to bone.”

Annie looks back and forth between the boys, jaw dropped, nodding slowly like she just realized it. Adam smirks like,  _ well, duh _ .

Steven scrambles off Ryan’s lap, blushing a dark pink, standing in the middle of the room like he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.

But Shane.

Shane stalks across the room and drops into Andrew’s lap, straddling him. He towers over Andrew, cups his jaw to tilt it up, and breathes out, “I’m gonna kiss you now. Stop me if you must.”

Andrew fists both hands into Shane’s shirt to pull him down and their lips collide in a desperate, bruising crash. They pant into each other’s mouth like they both ran five miles to finally meet in the middle. 

It kills Sara to tear her gaze away, but Ryan stands up carefully, gently pulling Steven closer by the elbow of his jacket. “You can absolutely tell me off,” he says tentatively. “But, um. What Sara said was true – for me, at least. I think you’re gorgeous.”

“Yeah?”

Ryan gives a tiny nod. His hand slides from Steven’s elbow to his hand, tangling their fingers together.

“You should kiss me,” Steven whispers.

Ryan doesn’t need to be asked twice. He goes up to his tiptoes and gently pulls Steven in by the lapels of his jacket. Where Shane and Andrew’s kiss had been the climax to a mad race, Steven and Ryan’s is a gentle stumble into discovering something that’s been secretly building in the back of your mind for years.

Speaking of years – Sara presses a soft kiss to Annie’s cheek before scooching across the couch to press herself against Adam. 

“It’s been too long,” she says. 

Adam doesn’t answer in words, but in the way he lays her down on the couch, cradling her hips and burying his face in her neck.  _ Yeah, I missed this _ , he says silently. 

She’s dimly aware, in the corner of her eye, of Kelsey giggling into Annie’s arms, of Andrew getting rid of Shane’s shirt, of Ryan sandwiching Steven against Andrew’s back. She doesn’t know what’s in store for them – eight  _ is _ a lot of people – but they got plenty of time to explore what they want before they have to get back to reality. 

Safe to say, the feud is over.

At least until the Cavs play the Lakers.


End file.
